Enterprise Latchkey
by readithoney
Summary: Follow John, Joe, Jimmy, and Lenny (John Kennex, Joe Dredd, Jim Kirk, and Leonard McCoy) as children on a mini adventure of gratuitous cuteness. Kidfic. Just for fun. 2KVerse (Karl Kid Verse)
1. Latchkey

**Latchkey Kids**

John heaved his five-year old chest at his older brother, Joe, who was attempting to settle a dispute between his stubborn sibling and Jimmy, a tow-headed boy of the same age and determination as John. They were fighting over the large toy phaser rifle, each boy holding onto one end and neither one showing any signs of backing down.

Joe, a boxy seven-year-old wearing the plastic police helmet he hadn't taken off in the past two years, except to shower, placed his hands on the toy and said, "Let go, John, let him have it. He had it first!" It was true. Jimmy had been playing with the toy when John had come over and plucked it from his adorable little hands. Despite being the same age, Jim was the golden boy in the after-school care ward. He had big, bright, blue eyes, cowlicked, auric hair, and an infectious giggle. John was an unkempt, scrawny thing, still figuring out how to get around on his synthetic leg after an unfortunate incident involving an adventure he took in the air duct system of the starship in an effort to avoid a bath several months ago. He was an ardent, argumentative kid, constantly trying to prove himself.

When John held on to the toy tighter, Joe looked to the person in charge. She was sitting across the room, listening to her headphones and reading a PADD, popping a wad of pink gum while bouncing gently to the music in her ears. Some of the words that crossed Joe's too-mature-for-his-age mind were _negligence, gross incompetence, _and _irresponsibility. _ These were buzz words he'd heard his father say whenever he talked about things going wrong on the ship due to a certain person or group of people.

The young woman, a student who probably took this job because her parents forced her, wasn't going to help control this situation. Joe twisted his mouth into a scowl and grabbed his little brother by his skinny shoulders and pulled him backward, yanking the toy out of his sticky little fingers. John crashed to the floor in a flash tantrum.

Jimmy grinned and said, "Thanks Joey!" firing the toy phaser at John three times before running off to escape his scruffy bully.

John looked up at his big brother with his fists balled. His little face was ruddy with indignation. Joe looked down on him, puffing out his chest to look as menacing as possible. Little John pushed himself up and rammed both of his fists into Joe's belly, knocking his big brother back unexpectedly.

Joe hit the ground and his beloved helmet bounced off his head and cracked on the floor.

From the look on John's face, he knew the gravity of what he had just done and he took off before Joe could get to his feet.

The daycare facility on the middle deck of the Enterprise was a place for the children of the crewmen of the flagship to stay when their parents were unable to be with them due to work duties. The afterschool program was lovingly called "the Latchkey" and offered activities and care for school-aged children too young to be left unsupervised. The Latchkey was always crawling with kids, supervised by young adults who didn't yet have official Starfleet duties.

Needless to say, it was chaotic place. Most of the teenagers banded together to work on their homework and talk about their love lives. The padded walls and floors and security enforced doors usually meant the kids in Latchkey were locked into a safe place and needed little else until their parents could come and collect them.

Joe usually found himself policing his little brother, who spent most of his time terrorizing the other children. John got special treatment ever since he'd lost his leg and it made Joe crazy. Their other brother, Lenny, who was eight, spent most of his time in Latchkey reading because books were the one thing John didn't ever try to take from him. Though John liked to draw pictures in his books on occasion which make him furious.

For now, Joe held his beloved police helmet in his hands, examining the vicious crack up the middle. It was ruined. Utterly destroyed. And, as he looked at it, the girl in charge of this section, Valerie, walked over and plucked it from his hands and said, "That looks sharp, kid," and she tossed it into the trash chute before he could protest.

His bottom lip trembled, dangerously close to an onslaught of tears. He fought the feeling, though, and twisted his little, puffed out mouth into a fearsome scowl and went in hunt of his obnoxious kid brother, his hands in pulsing fists at his sides.

John knew damn well that Joe was gonna be mad. He sought his one and only ally, a kind and compassionate little boy named Dorian who was a year older than him and was the son of the ship's chief medical officer, Dr. Ealy. Dorian was off to the side, sitting at a small table with the "half-blood Vulcan." John knew he wasn't allowed to say "half-blood" but his daddies couldn't hear his thoughts so he made sure to _think_ it all he wanted. The alien boy sat with Dorian and they were having a quiet, thoughtful, shockingly articulate discussion while coloring with crayons when John approached and ducked under their table, bumping into their legs.

"Hide me from Joe!" he squeaked, hugging onto Dorian's legs annoyingly.

"One second, Spock," Dorian said apologetically. He peered under the table at his friend and said, "What did you do, Johnny?"

"I broke his hat," John admitted, squeezing his bottom lip between his teeth. One of his front teeth was prematurely missing.

"Oh no," Dorian said. "You better stay under there and stay _real_ quiet. Don't make a peep."

John nodded intensely and ran his fingers over his lips as if zipping them, then pretended to put the key in his pocket.

Figuring that would keep his hyper friend quiet for a while, Dorian sat up and looked at the drawing Spock was creating with his crayons. It was a complex DNA structure. "This is my DNA. As you can see, the human influence is not as strong as the Vulcan influence," Spock said, his voice even and metered.

Dorian tapped his chin. "You represented the Hyper-Variable Region on your Vulcan side but you really failed to do so on your maternal side. I think you may be favoring the result you _want_ to see over the most probable outcome."

Spock's youthful face stayed impassive. John peeked up at him through the table and thought he looked like an acorn with his pointed chin and his straight-cut hair. That thought made John giggle as he tangled himself into the legs of both Spock and Dorian.

Spock looked under the table at John. He wasn't a very big fan of the little nuisance and he was rather annoyed by the other boy's sticky fingers on his clean pants. "Would you like to get a snack now, Dorian?" he asked.

Dorian nodded and tried to get up. John clung to him. "Don't go," he begged.

Dorian looked down and said, "Why don't you come with us?"

Spock nudged Dorian silently, indicating that he didn't want John to come with them. Dorian looked at Spock with wide, blue eyes then back down to John. He whispered, "Stay here John, I'll bring you a snack later."

His reputation as a troublemaker was catching up with John and he sat on the floor under the table and pulled up his pant leg to fiddle with his synthetic leg. He poked at it and pounded on it with his fist, not feeling anything. He sighed.

Spock and Dorian walked to the snack table where a large tray of vegetables stood virtually untouched. They each grabbed a handful of baby carrots. "Why do you hang around John?" Spock asked, his little eyebrow arching innocently.

"What do you mean?" Dorian asked, crunching on a carrot, his face pinched curiously.

"He's really bad," Spock said, "always causing trouble. My father says that his father is letting him _run wild._"

"His dad is the captain," Dorian said seriously. "Captains are busy."

"Still, you haven't told me why you spend so much time with him," Spock pointed out, a yawn creeping up on him.

Dorian was infected by the yawn, covering his mouth as one forced its way through him. "My dad is the doctor who helps him with his leg." His voice was barely above a whisper. His daddy had told him it wasn't polite to talk about John's leg. "So we play after his visits."

"Oh that makes sense," Spock said, logically. "You are friends with John because your father makes you. My father says I should stay away from him."

A frown passed Dorian's face as he peered back at John under the table by himself.

Jimmy got over the phaser rifle quickly, abandoning it in favor of a different toy. When he saw Lenny reading a book on a bean bag in the corner, he ran over and stood in front of the grumpy boy.

"Go 'way," Lenny said, turning the page of his book.

"Can I watch the book, too?" Jimmy asked, his bright, oversized eyes matching his dimpled smile.

Lenny sighed and moved over. The kid was like a barnacle, always latching himself onto Len when he just wanted to be by himself. Jim fell into the beanbag beside his friend and asked to hear the book. Lenny grumbled but read aloud, knowing full well that Jim could read. He put his arm around the younger kid and read the story.

John watched from his hiding spot as Lenny paused to let Jim see the pictures. He huffed. Lenny never did that for him. He went back to poking at his leg and pouting. It made him sick that pretty soon Jimmy would be his step-brother.

John saw Joe stalk by and shrank into a little ball. He closed his eyes, too, as if squinting his eyes shut would make him even harder to find. Within a minute, he fell sound asleep, his filthy thumb jammed into his mouth.

When Captain Karl and First officer Chris arrived to the latchkey to pick up their kids, Lenny, Joe, and Jimmy all had no clue where John was.

"Where's your helmet, Joe?" Karl asked, not used to seeing his son without the silly plastic hat.

Joe stuffed his hands in his pockets. "John broke it, dad."

Panic crossed Karl's face and he shared the look with Chris. If John broke Joe's helmet, he probably went into hiding. Last time he went into hiding, he lost a leg to a vent fan. "John!" he called, walking through the daycare facility briskly, looking everywhere and calling to his littlest tyke.

Chris searched too, checking in oversized toy bins and calling out to his rascally soon-to-be step-son. "Johnny! Come out come out wherever you are, kiddo!" He knew Karl still blamed himself for John's lost limb and he wanted to find the little boy before the captain went into full panic mode.

Finally, little Dorian poked Chris on the leg shyly and pointed to the little plastic picnic table.

"Oh thank goodness," Chris said, putting a hand on Dorian's head. "Thanks, sweetie."

Chris shouted across the enormous space and pointed, "Found him!"

Karl clutched his chest in relief and headed over.

Chris lifted the table up to reveal John, still soundly sleeping in a little ball. He scooped the boy up and observed his dirty face, angelic as he slept.

Karl came over and ran a hand through the mess of hair atop his baby boy's head. He had to hold him in his arms and hefted him from Chris and smoothed a hand up the child's back tenderly. John stirred in his father's arms and sighed as he felt a kiss brush his cheek, by his ear.

"Daddy, Joe hates me," he murmured against the shoulder of his father's uniform, his hot, grubby hands coiling behind Karl's neck.

"No he doesn't," Karl said, patting his little brat on back, "But I am sure an apology would help him feel less upset about his helmet."

He set the reluctant child down in front of Joe who scowled.

"Sorry," John said to Joe, his fist rubbing at the sleep in his eye, his good leg twisting into the ground in contrition.

Joe rolled his eyes to the ceiling but ultimately wanted to please his dad. "It's okay," he conceded reluctantly, his sharp eyes sweeping up and down his lawless, impetuous brother.

John smiled and turned toward his dad with both arms up. Karl hoisted him up and said, "Oh you are almost getting too big for this." He pressed two kisses into his son's hair. "Stop growing."

"Can we _go_ now?" Lenny grouched, his overstuffed book bag weighing his shoulders down.

Chris hoisted Jimmy up and cuddled him, getting a happy laugh as his reward, before announcing, "Let's go!"

The oldest boys walked along, describing their day at school while the youngest enjoyed being carried. They left as a family to go back to the captain's quarters for dinner.


	2. Fathers' Day for Dummies 1

**Fathers' Day for Dummies**

Chris looked at the sharp, rugged features of the three boys in front of him and smiled. All three had Karl's lineaments in different stages or moods and their happiness, safety, and comfort meant the world to him. He had, however, found it rather difficult to win them over since he had first started dating Karl, who was now his husband. The boys were still struggling with their new, second father.

Now, with all three of them in the booth across from him, Chris was attempting to bond with his new step-sons. So far, Lenny had his nose in a book, Joe looked unnervingly focused, and John was...where did John go?

"Stay here guys, while I go find your brother," Chris said, to no response. He slid out of the booth in the lunch cafe located on the lower deck of the massive ship. He looked around and saw John by the window that looked out into space, his little hands on the clear viewer, standing on the back of a booth.

"John, come here," Chris called. The little boy flat out ignored him. Chris sighed and slid into the booth on his knees, plucking John away from the window. "Remember how we talked about running off without telling anyone?"

"The stars are going by _so_ fast," John's big brown eyes danced. The child had a way of glossing over serious topics with distracting, exciting information.

"Please don't run off again," Chris half-scolded, half-begged, carrying John back to the booth and getting a hard little synthetic knee to the ribs for his efforts. He put the boy on the inside of the booth with him and slid back in. Joe and Lenny looked at him silently.

"Okay the reason we are here today, boys, is that-"

John interrupted Chris with a loud whine, "I'm hungry, Crisp!"

The struggling adult closed his eyes a moment. Somewhere, across the way, Karl was out with _his_ son, Jimmy, who was already calling him papa and was probably giggling and laughing. Chris was trying so hard to connect with his new sons and he was finding it incredibly challenging.

"Okay, John, we're going to order food soon," He sighed and grabbed a menu, "You boys wanna just split a pizza?"

Joe shrugged. Lenny didn't look up from his book. John was wiggling his way under the table. Chris pulled him up onto the seat and plopped him down. He didn't want to lose his patience. He took a deep breath and smiled at the waitress who finally came over. "We'd like an extra-large pepperoni pizza, breadsticks, and some sprite," he smiled at her and she didn't return it. He correctly assumed she'd be the one cleaning John's handprints off the window later.

When she walked away, Chris sighed and said, "John, keep your bottom on the seat. Lenny, can you put the book away until the end of the meal, please?"

Lenny folded the page of his book and put it down on the table with a thud. It was a book far above the reading level for his age group. "Why are we here? Where is my dad?"

"I'm...I'm your dad, too," Chris smiled, "And he's not here beca-"

"_Step_-dad," Joe corrected.

Chris was ready to scream. "Fine," he snapped. He frowned and looked away. He was kicking himself for getting short with them. He wanted the boys to have a good time.

"Sorry," he said, sighing, "Yes, I'm your stepdad. But, listen boys, I brought you here because father's day is this weekend. I want to help you do something nice for your dad. What do you think about that?"

Joe's face softened. Lenny looked up at Chris and said, "Why? He isn't _your_ dad."

"But I love him, too," Chris countered, "And I love you boys."

"I. love. you. too," John piped loudly and robotically, it was always his response to being told he was loved. Chris didn't care, he'd take it.

"Thank you, Johnny boy," he smiled at the little boy who was so very different from his own son despite being so close in age, only a few months apart.

Lenny was proving the hardest to convince. He was skeptical and intelligent, and Chris respected the fact that he needed more evidence before accepting the newest member of his family. Chris also knew that Lenny was very sweet to Jimmy and had taken him under his wing easily, making him feel welcome in their shared state rooms. For that, Chris would forever be grateful.

"Look, does anyone have an idea of what you'd like to get your daddy for father's day?" Chris asked, putting his palms on the table.

Joe tapped the side of his head, thinking. Lenny looked at the ceiling. Chris looked to the side in time to see John's feet disappear over the back of the booth.

He flushed and jumped up, apologizing to the people in the booth behind them, who now had John sitting with them. He was the first officer on this ship and here he was, being thwarted by a five-year-old. "Johnathon," he said with threadbare patience. John looked super guilty and rather than coming out of the booth to where Chris was crooking his finger, he scrambled back over to his own side, kicking the table in his haste. The people grabbed their drinks before they could spill. One of the gentlemen got kicked in the head.

"I'm so sorry," Chris said, feeling the redness on his face. He caught the waitress walking by and whispered to her that he wanted to pay for that booth as well. She nodded.

"I didn't mean to!" John said, as Chris got back in the booth, giving the little boy a furious look.

"John, if you get up off that seat one more time, we will leave," Chris said, lifting John's chin so he could see his big muddy green eyes, "Understand?"

"I can run all the way down the long hall and back without stopping," John said quickly.

Chris resisted the urge to text Karl and ask for help. The pizza arrived and he served up slices for everyone. Once there was food on their plates, the boys were more agreeable. John made an unholy mess, but stayed in one place, on his knees in the booth. He refused a booster seat outright.

"Okay," Chris smiled as all the boys chewed, "We gotta think of something for your dad, something really special." He snapped out a hand in time to catch John's drink as it teetered on the edge of the table, "It can be something we buy or something we make."

Joe chewed thoughtfully and said, "Is there anything he needs?"

"Who cares what he needs," Lenny said, "You gotta get him what he wants."

"I want a remote control spaceship," John said dreamily.

"This is about dad," Joe snapped, "Not _you_."

"But I _do_ want that," John told the table, sincerely.

Chris put a hand on John's little shoulder and rubbed supportively. "What about your daddy?" he asked, "what might he want?"

John got distracted by blowing bubbles in his cup with his straw.

"He likes coffee," Joe said, analytically. "Maybe a cup."

"Great idea, Joey!" Chris said, pointing at Joe and giving him a brilliant smile.

"He _has_ a coffee cup," Lenny said.

Joe looked deflated. "Well you come up with a better idea, then!" Joe shoved Lenny roughly into the wall beside the booth, knocking his book to the floor.

Len came back at him and Chris had to nearly shout to get them to stop. John was on the floor under the table again and he re-emerged with Lenny's book and stood on the booth to hand it over to his oldest brother.

"You covered it in pizza sauce!" Len accused. Real books were harder to come by and some of his were super old ones of his dads or on loan from other crew members. "Dammit, John!"

Joe looked shocked and John jumped in the booth and said, "Dammit, dammit, dammit John."

Chris was counting this lunch as a total bust at this point. "Leonard, _language!_" he scolded and he grabbed John and hushed him. It was true, John was wearing more pizza than he ate. "Eat," Chris insisted.

**. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .**

Karl and Jimmy were at a different restaurant having lunch. Jimmy was in his booster seat and he was eating his lunch and talking sweetly about anything that crossed his brilliant little head. "Papa," he articulated sweetly, the word melting into Karl's heart like a pat of butter on the summer sidewalk, "Where is my daddy and Lenny, and Joey?"

"And don't forget John," Karl encouraged.

Jimmy squished his face, "John is bad," he said.

"He's a handful, but he's not bad," Karl said, his heart breaking just a little for his firecracker of a son. "They are having lunch with daddy, and you are having lunch with me."

"Why?" Jim asked, his blue eyes shining, reminding Karl of Chris so much, his eyes brimmed.

"Because it is fun," Karl smiled, "Right?"

"Yes!" Jim said sweetly. Karl felt guilty. He couldn't help but imagine what Chris was going through right now. He envisioned him curled in the fetal position while his three rowdy boys ran around, jumped on him, and kicked at him.

"Father's day is coming," Karl explained, "and I want to help you get something nice for your daddy."

Jimmy smiled so wide, it was heart stopping.

**. . . . . . . . . . . . .**

When lunch was over, they were all meeting up in the recreation area. Karl walked up with Jimmy on his shoulders, both of them looking utterly content.

Chris looked...less content. He was covered in pizza sauce and his shirt was stretched and hanging on his shoulder. He was struggling to hold onto John who wanted to be put down but had already run off twice since they got there to wait for Karl and Jimmy. Chris was one-thousand-five-hundred-and-fifty percent _done_.

John kicked at him and whined loudly, trying to push himself away from his step-father. Lenny was reading and sitting on the floor where people had to walk over him and Chris had asked him to move three times now. The only one not causing trouble was Joe, who held onto Chris's pants pocket and stood nearby, looking upset.

"Do you want me to talk to John for you, Chris?" Joe asked.

"No, I've got this," Chris said, trying not to speak through his teeth as John twisted in his arms like a windsock.

Karl had a little shopping bag in his hand as he walked up from their successful trip.

"Daddy!" John shouted, wrestling himself free at last and running to Karl.

Karl gave Chris a searching, lopsided look as John crashed into his legs. He set Jimmy down carefully and scooped John up happily. Karl observed him, checking his leg quickly out of habit and asked, "Where you a good boy for daddy Chris?"

"Yes!" John lied, a thin, prideful smile on his small face. Karl pulled him in for a kiss on the cheek and got him giggling happily.

Chris was holding Jimmy, talking to him as Karl came over and kissed Jim then he bent, still holding John to kiss the top of Joe's head. Joe, embarrassed, groaned, "Dad…"

"Leonard, get off the floor," Karl coaxed to his son who finally listened and stood up. Karl kissed him on top of the head, too, and they all headed toward home.

**. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .**

Leonard was reading his book in bed by the light of a flashlight. He sighed and set it to the side and rubbed his eyes. His thick eyebrows knotting in annoyance. He couldn't keep the thought of father's day out of his mind. He loved his dad.

He kicked at the mattress over his head, bumping it against the bed frame. Joe peered sharply over the bed, "If you kick my mattress again, I'm going to tell daddy."

"Stop being such a tattle tale, Joe," Len seethed, "get down here."

Lenny slid over to the wall in his bunk as Joe swung himself recklessly down, making the wood frame of their bunk beds shudder against the wall. Len shushed him saying, "Don't make so much noise, Joe, I don't want Dad and Chris to come in here."

Joe shrugged and slid into the covers beside his brother. His pajamas were black pants and a shirt with a police car on it. "What do you want to talk about?" Joe asked, his head resting on Len's pillow.

"Father's day," Lenny whispered. "Chris was trying to help us today but John ruined it."

"I was the only one who came up with an idea," Joe said. He was a year younger than Len but already much bigger. He was taller and broader despite only being seven years old.

"Shut up about the goddamned coffee cup," Len grumbled. "I have a better idea. I figured out what dad really wants more than anything. I'm gonna set it all up tomorrow."

"You shouldn't swear, Len, Daddy says-" Joe began but Len slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Shut up, Joe," he demanded, "Jesus Christ on a teeter-totter, no one is in here listening. Stop being such a goody-goody."

Joe pouted.

Len leaned in to whisper to him, "Okay, listen up, dweeb, here's the plan…"

**. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .**

Karl and Chris looked in on Jimmy and John, tucked into their tot beds. Jimmy had his arms above his head as he snoozed and John had kicked off his blankets, his leg and one arm hanging off the edge. His pajamas were rolled up under his missing leg and clipped in place.

His synthetic leg was resting on its charger on the dresser.

Karl gently slid his son back onto the middle of his bed and covered him with the blankets, tucking him in gently. He looked down at his little boy with a big sigh and Chris put a hand on his shoulder. It had been a hard few months since John had lost his leg. Since then, the Starship captain was strung out and worried all the time. Losing a limb hadn't slowed John down in the slightest. That added to Karl's worry. His son didn't seem to learn anything from his mishap.

"He looks so sweet when he sleeps," Chris remarked, smiling at John. They tucked Jim in, too, and headed to the living area of their cabin.

"I'm sorry the boys gave you a hard time at lunch," Karl said, sitting down with his PADD. He had so many reports to go over. It was hard to be the father of four boys and the captain of a ship as massive as the Enterprise. Sometimes he fantasized about turning in his resignation and buying a ranch or a farm on Earth, settling down, watching the boys grow big and tan in the sun. There would be no ducts for John to crawl through-his heart clenched for a split second.

Chris sat down and grabbed his PADD, too. As First officer, he could at least help Karl with his reports. "They were okay," Chris said, "I don't think I have won them over yet. John still calls me Crisp."

Karl chuckled at that even though he really shouldn't have. "They are just strong willed. They will come around. Leonard is just too smart for his own damn good. Joe is hyper-sensitive to the rules. If I told him to call you dad, he would do it right away. But I want him to get there on his own. And John, well," Karl sighed deeply, poking at his tablet screen, "John is John."

"He doesn't listen to me," Chris said, "I wish I could just change that. He ran off so many times. I want to be able to keep him safe." He felt bad for admitting that he'd lost track of John, knowing how much Karl worried. However, he needed to be real with his husband as they went through this transition.

"He doesn't listen to anyone," Karl said, putting the PADD down and leaning into Chris. "Don't take it personally, babe."

"I don't," Chris said, though he really did. He wanted the boys to love him too. He knew it would take time, but he was jealous when Jimmy would run to Karl and call him papa and Lenny, Joe, and John wouldn't so much as look at him.

"Yes you do," Karl prodded at his ribs. "I would, too."

"Maybe a little," Chris smiled, kissing the captain's hair. "I know we were gonna get a lot of work done tonight, hubby, but I'm exhausted."

Karl pulled the tablet from Chris's hands and set it on the coffee table. Then he got up and pulled Chris up off the couch by his arm, "Let's go to bed. I could sleep for a thousand years."

They went into their room and prepared for bed. Yawning, they slid into the sheets, their overworked bodies grateful to rest into the soft mattress. They wound together, their lips connecting effortlessly. Karl reached around grabbed a handful of Chris's backside when an unmistakable sound came thumping down the hallway.

Karl groaned. A second later, tiny John was in their doorway, leaning sleepily against the wall, peering into the dark bedroom. He hopped nimbly and expertly on his one good leg to the end of the bed and pawed his way up onto it. "Daddy?" he whispered.

Karl and Chris held their breath. Finally Karl sat up and pulled John up the bed to sit between them. "What are you doing out of bed, John?" his father asked, trying to sound stern.

"I wanna sleep with you and Crisp," John said, nestling back into the pillows sweetly.

Karl looked at Chris who frowned but nodded, putting a hand on John's belly and giving it a pat.

John giggled and turned his back to Chris, leaning into his daddy's chest. Karl put an arm around the boy and smiled at his husband, mouthing the words "Thank you."

Chris closed his eyes a second before hearing the naked feet of his own son coming down the hall extra fast. Jimmy crashed onto the bed and crawled up to his father, clinging to his neck.

Chris laughed and scooted even farther away from Karl, making room for another warm body in the bed. He gave Jimmy a kiss and said, "Just this once."

John rustled in the sheets. "_I'm_ sleepin' in here, Jimmy," he said, a rogue elbow flying out to smash against Jimmy's shoulder before Karl could catch it.

Jimmy howled like a banshee. Karl pulled John close, talking in his ear about how he had better apologize right now to his brother.

John knew when his daddy talked like that it was serious so he said, "Sorr-ee, Jim-ee," sullenly.

Jimmy sniffled and Chris rubbed his back. "S'okay," the sweet little boy said finally, but hung out his bottom lip and let it quiver.

"You're okay," Chris reassured, snuggling him close. Chris noticed that Karl rarely raised his voice to his kids. He was trying to observe more about the three new, rambunctious additions to his life. He was at a loss for dealing with John's behavior. Jim had never acted out like that other than a few episodes of overtiredness that were few and far between. John was like a perpetual motion machine and he seemed to disregard and disobey authority in a way that was somehow both impish and innocent at the same time.

It was maddening for Chris.

They settled down after that and soon everyone in the captain's quarters was sleeping peacefully.

. . . . . . .

_**chapter 2 coming soon (tomorrow) **_


	3. Adventure

**Fathers' Day for Dummies**

**Chapter 2: Adventure **

After school, the kids who needed to go to latchkey were ushered into the large recreational area. Joey and Lenny met up, as planned the night before. Joe looked pale and sweaty and immediately tried to back out of the mission.

"No way," Lenny said, "I went through all the trouble today to get Khan to call for us, we're _doing _it." Khan was an older boy who helped out in Lenny's advanced science class. He had a nice deep voice, so Lenny offered him all his lunches for the next month if he would help them by calling the photo shop in the recreational deck after school.

"Okay Joe," Lenny said, putting a hand on his brother's shoulder, "Your job is to keep John under control. Can you do that?"

Joe cracked his knuckles, "If he tries anything, I'll pound him."

"Good," Lenny said. "I'll take care of Jimmy."

They headed over to where the younger kids usually gathered and found the boys arguing. Jimmy looked upset on the floor and John stood with his hands tucked close to his body, jutting out from his armpits. He was roaring loudly.

Jimmy clung to Leonard and cried, "Tell John to leave me alone!"

"He's building a city out of blocks and I'm Godzilla," John announced proudly.

Joe reached out a hand and smacked John on the back of the head. "Knock it off, creep!" Joe said.

John was no one to take physical abuse from his sibling sitting down. Since he was Godzilla, he launched himself at Joe and bit his arm hard while growling. Joe howled as John's crooked, sharp little teeth dug into his skin.

Lenny pulled John off of Joe and said in his best mimic of his father's angry whisper voice, "Do you want to go on an adventure today or not? Because if you do, you need to stop fighting right. this. instant."

"Adventure?" John's head snapped to look at Len who held his arm, he was suddenly John again and not Godzilla.

Lenny nodded. "But you have to be quiet and stop fighting."

Joe looked at the imprint of John's dental records on his skin and rubbed at the stinging mark painfully and ruefully. John was lucky they had plans today because if not, he would tattle on him for that. The scariest thing in the world was getting in real trouble at Latchkey because they took you to an office and called your parents away from their station at work. It was extra scary if your father was the captain of the ship.

Lenny said, "We're going to go on an adventure to make a father's day present. You have to listen to me though, or it won't work and we'll all be in trouble."

"I don' wanna be in trouble," Jimmy said, rebuilding his city. John kicked the new tower over so hard the blocks banged against the wall several feet away. Joe smacked him again.

"Fucking stop it!" Lenny said in his hushed voice, making all three of the younger boys turn their heads in shock. "We need to leave right now or we'll be late." He took Jimmy's hand. "Don't let go no matter what, Jim."

Joe tried to grab John's hand but his little brother jerked away. So Joe grabbed him by the back of his shirt instead and dragged him along.

By the Latchkey entrance, Valerie, the teenager on watch, was doing her calculus homework at the little desk. Lenny pointed and waved at the exit door shouting "Hi, daddy!" with excitement.

Valerie looked up and behind her. There were some adults milling outside. She pressed the door release and the door slid open, "Have a good day boys!" she said, then returned her eyes to her work.

They strode out into the hall. Lenny in the lead, with a wide-eyed Jimmy. Joe behind them, dragging John like a broken caboose.

Joe and Lenny exchanged looks and both breathed out. "I can't believe that worked," Len said.

"This place has always lacked proper security," Joe said with a dead serious look on his face.

Jimmy scanned the hallway with excitement. He spun in a circle, "Where is papa?" he asked.

Lenny rolled his eyes and gathered Jim's hand again, "On the bridge, dummy. Let's go."

John, tired of being yanked around, wrenched free of Joe and said, "I'll walk, Joey, _don't touch me!_"

"Fine," Joe grumbled, "But if you run off, I'm gonna beat you." He made a fist.

John scrunched up his nose and walked after Lenny. They had to be fast. Four unsupervised kids on a starship was an unusual sight. They made it to the turbolift and piled on. Len poked in the button for the recreation deck and they were lucky that it took them straight there without any stops.

"Where are we going?" John asked loudly, Joe and Len both shushed him.

"To the picture studio," Len whispered. "Stay close and don't make a sound or you'll ruin everything and you'll ruin father's day."

John snapped his mouth shut. Looking at all the people on the rec-deck walking briskly by in uniforms, he grinned at the buzzing activity. "I wanna go to the arcade," he piped as they walked through the crowded hall.

"Tough," Joe said, wrangling him.

When they reached the studio, Lenny walked up to the counter on his toes and said, "I have an appointment for Lenny. My daddy called ahead."

The woman behind the counter looked at the four boys skeptically. Lenny and Joe both beamed innocently. Jim looked ready to cry. John was bouncing and touching the frames on display nearby. She checked her appointment log and nodded, "Oh yes, he did call. Have a seat in those chairs over there," she pointed, her eyes sliding to John, "and don't touch anything."

They waited restlessly. Jimmy was asking a lot of questions, afraid they were doing something wrong. Lenny told him it was all a big surprise for their daddies for father's day and that it would be okay.

When it was their turn, they were ushered into a studio space with a soft background. Lenny lined his brothers up and looked at them. Joe looked fine, Jimmy's eyes looked a little red so he told him no more crying. John was filthy. He had dried peanut butter on his face from lunch, dirty fingernails, a scrape on his chin, and a bruise on his forehead. His hair looked like a soft bird's nest. Not to mention the fact that he'd knocked his own front tooth out weeks before. "You're a mess, John," Len said, using the hem of John's own shirt to smear at the food on his face. John fought him like a cat over a bathtub.

"Okay boys, stand over here," The photographer said, unused to dealing with children without their parents. After attacking John with a comb, he posed them a few different ways and snapped pictures.

Once they were done, Lenny found a cute picture frame that said "brothers" in big block letters along the bottom. He pointed at it and said, "We'll take that one."

The woman working the shop took it down off the wall and looked at him cautiously, "Who is paying?"

Lenny handed over a bitdrive, his life savings. She checked it, it wasn't quite enough for the photo and the frame. "Sorry kid, you're short."

Joe dug for his drive and handed it up to the woman. She pressed it into the screen. Joe had just enough to make up the difference with his weeks of allowance. she returned their drives, one empty and one nearly empty and worked to put the picture in the frame. Then she handed it down to them.

Len inspected it critically. "At least we are all smiling," he sighed, looking at John in the picture. He was like the human embodiment of a smudge.

Len tucked it in his bookbag. "Back to Latchkey," he said.

The way back proved much harder than the way there. Knowing he was going back to Latchkey, John dragged his feet, whined, and ran all over the place. On one such occasion, he bumped into a tall set of legs and fell to the floor on his bottom. Joe was on his heels and they both looked up at the man John knocked into and swallowed.

It was Dr. Ealy. He smiled down at the little pest, "Hey John, how's the leg buddy?"

"It's good," John said, knocking on his leg.

Dr. Mike Ealy looked up, searching for one of John's dads. When he didn't find Chris or Karl anywhere in site he crouched down and helped John up and said, "Where are your dads?"

"On the bridge, dummy," John parroted his older brother.

Joe slapped himself on the forehead.

Lenny and Jimmy were there, too. They had officially been caught now. Joe fidgeted. He wasn't a rule breaker and now he felt like he was gonna throw up. He was ready to accept whatever punishment was in store for him.

"Do your daddies know you are here?" the doctor asked, thinking of his own son, Dorian, who was in Latchkey right now.

"No we are taking an adventure," John said. He liked the doctor so much.

"Oh really," Dr. Ealy said, standing up and putting his hands on his hips.

"Look," Lenny said, putting his bookbag down and unzipping it. He pulled out the picture frame and held it out to the doctor. "We were buying a surprise for our dad for father's day."

Michael examined the picture with a big smile on his face, "Okay, man, that's really cool."

"Will you walk us back to Latchkey?" Joe asked, tired of adventuring.

"Good idea, Joe," Dr. Ealy said, handing the picture back to Len so he could put it away. "Come on boys."

John stuck his arms up and the doctor picked him up with a grin, checking his leg. Joe gave John a contemptuous look, wishing his little brother wouldn't act like such a baby all the time. John spent a lot of time in the company of the doctor for physical therapy each week.

He walked them into the Latchkey center and set John down. With an adult, none of the teenagers questioned the fact that the boys were back. Michael made a mental note to bring up security in the daycare facility in the next officers' meeting.

Lenny waited while the other kids dispersed then looked at the kind doctor and said, "Are you going to tell our dads?"

"No," the doctor smiled, "Just...don't do that again, okay?" He ruffled Len's perfectly combed hair annoyingly, "You are in this place for your own safety...though something tells me you are getting too grown up for this, Len." That made Lenny smile and straighten his shoulders.

The doctor when in to visit his son who was already playing with John in the back corner. His friend Spock sat nearby shaking his head as Dorian clashed plastic swords with the rowdy boy. He was proud of his son for being John's friend. Then again, there wasn't anyone Dorian couldn't get along with.

**. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . **

Before getting picked up from Latchkey, Joey and Lenny sat John and Jim down on the carpet squares to have a little chat. They told the five-year-olds that they had to remember not to tell their dads that they went on an adventure or that they got their picture taken.

"Why?" Jimmy asked, unsure. He liked to tell his daddy everything that happened during the day.

"Because it is a surprise," Lenny said, sternly, "Do you understand?"

The little blond boy nodded, but his big blue eyes betrayed him by looking completely confused. John, however, understood keeping secrets. There were lots of secrets locked in John's little mind. He liked to secretly go to the kitchen and see how many marshmallows he could fit in his mouth at night. He secretly knew where the glass trophy his father had won from Starfleet last year was-smashed to pieces and put in the garbage chute because John was playing soccer in the living room. Secretly, he knew that he could pee in the bathtub if he stood on the edge. He was secretly aware that Dr. Ealy's jars of cotton candy in med bay didn't taste good. John was good at keeping secrets, especially ones that saved his own skin.

When their father's came to pick them up, the boys were uncharacteristically quiet. When Karl and Chris asked them about their day, they all chirped that it was good and fell silent.

Jimmy was marching down the hall, his eyes forward, his mind racing. Chris looked at him, hoping he was okay. He would ask more questions over dinner.

When they got home, the boys filed back to Lenny and Joe's bedroom and promptly slid the door shut. Chris looked at Karl who cocked his eyebrow and walked to the door and knocked.

Lenny opened it a crack.

"Lenny, what is going on?" Karl asked, making sure that providing an answer wasn't optional.

"We're making something for you," Len said, annoyed that he had to tell him that much, "Jesus."

"_Leonard_," Karl put a warning in his tone.

"Sorry, geeze," Len said, sliding the pocket door shut once again.

"Father's Day," Chris said, relief in his voice. He was feeling bad that he had failed to help the boys find something for their dad to open. He was proud of them for making him something and for including Jimmy. At least, no matter what, they accepted Jimmy.

Meanwhile, Jimmy was crying. John was on top of him, pinning him to the floor, wrestling him.

"Get off him, John!" Joe demanded, trying to pull on John who swung back an arm blindly, narrowly missing hitting Joe in the most painful place a boy could be hit. He covered himself and backed away.

"I'm just making sure he won't tell our secret!" John said.

"Get off me, I'm tellin'" Jimmy bawled. He wasn't used to having siblings at all, let alone the rough and tumble brothers he'd recently inherited.

"He said he's tellin'," John announced, "I'm going to pinch him!"

"No!" Lenny said, knocking John off Jimmy in time to stop his bratty brother from twisting a lump of Jimmy's pink skin in his dirty little fingers.

Len helped Jimmy up and hugged him. Joe gave John another smack on the back of the head.

John was about to shout that he was gonna tattle but realized that wouldn't be the best in these circumstances. Instead he bared his teeth at Joe angrily.

"Pipe down, infant," Lenny said to John, "And don't be a bully to Jimmy or I _will _tell dad."

John hated being called an infant. But he shut up anyhow. He didn't want to be tattled on. He watched Lenny stroke Jimmy's hair and wipe his tears and looked off to the side, sniffing.

"Okay," Lenny said, grabbing a bucket of crayons from the closet and putting them on the little work table in the middle of the room. Joe rummaged through the desk drawers for construction paper. "Let's make the cards."

Jimmy sat down and said, "I am gonna make one for daddy and one for papa."

Joe and Jim looked at each other and then to John who was pouting off by himself. "John come here and make cards, we need to talk." Len said.

"No," John said folding his arms.

"Fine, be a little baby," Len said. John got up and walked over and sat in a chair, looking upset but not wanting to be called a baby.

"Listen, John," Len sighed, "We are gonna start calling Chris _Daddy Chris_ from now on, okay?"

"Why?" John asked. Looking up from his scribbling.

"Because he is our new dad," Joe said, "And because it will make _our_ daddy happy."

"He is a good daddy," Jimmy added sweetly, coloring a little heart under the word "Papa" painstakingly drawn out in a crooked little line.

John was scribbling on his paper so hard it tore a little. He couldn't write much yet. He had tutors working with him every day to get him caught up with his classmates. When his card tore, he frowned at it a moment.

Looking at the messy green blotch and torn paper, Joe shifted in his seat and said, "You are just making a mess, John."

Lenny kicked Joe under the table. Len was old enough to know that John had some learning problems that made it harder for him. "Daddy will love it just as it is, John," Len said, trying to avoid any tears. John had his most sensitive moments when he was being creative. Joe rolled his eyes.

John studied Lenny a moment then nodded in agreement, attempting to write his name on the card. He wrote the J and then the rest of it looked like alien characters.

"Want me to write a message for you?" Len asked John, feeling himself soften to his little brother a moment. Len had no such struggles. He had a photographic mind.

John nodded and handed his card to Lenny, "Make it say, daddy and daddy Crisp, I love pizza and stars."

Len smiled and tried not to laugh, "Okay, John," he said and wrote it down.

**. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . **

Miraculously, neither five year old ruined the surprise for Father's day. When the day rolled around, they had breakfast together and Chris nearly dropped the pan when he slid a pancake in front of Lenny and the little boy looked up at him and said, "Thank you, daddy."

Chris had to turn toward the stove and clutch his chest, blinking back his tears. Len looked to his dad who smiled at him with shining eyes and patted his hand. Joe followed suit, calling Chris_ pop_. When John got his pancake, shaped like a starship...sorta...by request, he looked up and said, "Crisp, will you be my daddy, too?"

Chris couldn't even take it. He tossed the pan down and scooped John up into his arms and crushed him to his chest...getting syrup all over his uniform. He didn't even care.

"Can I get the cards?" Jimmy whispered loudly. Len laughed and nodded and Jim took off like a shot.

He came back with a wad of construction paper cards. Chris and Karl sat together and read each one carefully. They didn't need to be told who made each card. John's broke Karl's heart a little and he went around the table and kissed all four of his little munchkins. Chris did the same.

After breakfast, Karl whispered in Jimmy's ear and he nodded excitedly. Karl handed him a little present that he ran over to his dad. Chris pulled him up on his lap and opened it, revealing a little gold pin that said_ #1 dad_. He pinned it to his filthy uniform, not caring that it wasn't regulation. He was married to the captain. He pressed kisses into Jimmy's cheeks and told him how much he loved him.

"Well I can't think of a better Father's day, can you Daddy Crisp?" Karl asked.

"No, actually, I can't think of anything better than this," Chris said, running a knuckle under his eyes.

John stood up and shouted, "Wait there is more!" He ran off.

Joe made a face and ran after him, afraid John would break the glass in the frame. He pulled the poorly wrapped package off the shelf and handed it to John cautiously. "Walk," he warned.

John nodded carefully and ran to the living room like a lemming. He shoved the present toward Karl. Karl looked at Chris, who looked bewildered. He wasn't lying when he said he didn't help the boys get anything for their dad.

He tore the paper away to reveal the picture inside in the cute frame that read 'brothers,' holding not three, but all four boys. He covered his mouth and motioned for Chris who came and sat beside him. Fresh tears at the lovely gift. All four of their boys, frozen in time, looking like a real family.

Setting the frame down carefully, Karl grabbed for the kids, insisting they all pile on top of him, which they obliged. Even Lenny.

It wasn't until later, over dinner at a restaurant on the lower deck, that Karl asked, "How did you boys get that picture, anyhow?"

Lenny looked at Joe. They both shoved food in their mouths.

"We took an adventure from Latchkey," John said, smearing his hand on the white linen table cloth and dipping a chicken nugget in ketchup, on his chair, on his knees.

"Oh?" Chris asked, "Tell me about it."

As if on cue from the heavens, Dr. Ealy approached with Dorian. "Just wanted to say hello," he smiled, "see how that special gift turned out."

"Oh so you are the one who took them to the studio?" Karl asked.

Michael looked at the boys. Lenny and Joe nodded desperately. "Sure," Dr Ealy smiled, "Of course!"

"Thank you so much!" Chris said.

"You have some very special boys," he said, running a hand over the top of Dorian's head absent mindedly. "Have a nice meal." He winked at the kids and left.

Lenny and Joe breathed out in relief.

"We have the best kids," Chris smiled, taking a bite of his steak.

"The best," Karl agreed, eyeballing his boys with an amused grin. He was going to up the security on the Latchkey center and get the _real_ story out of his CMO tomorrow. However, his boys were crazy if they thought he could be mad at them for even a second, he loved them with all his-

One of John's ketchup covered chicken nuggets flew across the restaurant off the spoon catapult he had just created, landing in the soup of a foreign ambassador, splashing her with hot liquid.

-heart.


End file.
